Rye beer

Rye beer refers to any beer in which rye (generally malted) is substituted for some portion of the barley malt.

Rye beers are considered specialty beers that are brewed with unusual fermentables such as rice, corn, or wheat.[1]

One example of this is roggenbier which is a specialty beer produced with up to sixty percent rye malt. The style originated in Bavaria, in southern Germany and is brewed with the same type of yeast as a German hefeweizen resulting in a similar light, dry, spicy taste.

Until the 15th century, it was common in Germany, particularly in Bavaria, to use rye malt for brewing beer.[citation needed] However, after a period of bad harvests, it was ruled that rye would only be used for baking bread, thus only barley was to be used for beer, see the German law known as the Reinheitsgebot. Roggenbier virtually disappeared for almost five hundred years. In 1988, it reappeared in Bavaria.

The modern version of roggenbier is typically about 5% ABV and is fairly dark in colour. The flavour is grainy, often having a hearty flavour similar to pumpernickel bread. Typically, at least 50 percent of the malts used to make the beer are made from rye.[5]